The Effectiveness And Mechanism Of L-arginine Treatment On Intrauterine Growth Retardation

Objectivities To investigate the relationship between nitric oxide (NO) and intrauterine growth retardation (IUGR), and to assess the effects of L-arginine (L-Arg) in treating IUGR.Methods 66 pregnant women with IUGR were recruited. Of them, 36 cases (routine therapy group) were given routine therapy, while other 30 cases (L-Arg group) were given L-Arg combined with routine therapy. 30 cases with normal pregnancy were served as normal pregnant control group. Parameters such as fetal growth, umbilical artery flow, maternal hemorheology, maternal serum and umbilical vein serum NO level, newborn average birth weight and neonatal outcomes were measured and compared among these three groups.Results After treatment ① the biparietal diameter (BPD), femoral length (FL) and abdominal circumference(AC) of L-Arg group were significantly increased as compared with those of routine therapy group(P <0. 01 respectively);②the values of pulse index (PI) and resistant index (RI) of L-Arg group were significantly lower than those of routine therapy group respectively(P<0. 01, P<0. 05), while the fast blood velocity rate (FBVR) was significantly higher(P<0. 01); ③ The value of blood viscosity at the low shear rate (LBV) of L-Arg group was significantly lower than that of routine therapy group (P<0. 05); ④Maternal serum NO level and umbilical vein NO level of L-Arg group were significantly higher than those of routine therapy group respectively ( P< 0.01 respectively);⑤the incidence of newborns with small for gestational age (SGA) of L-Arg group was significantly lower than that of routine group(P<0. 05) ; ⑥ The newborn average birth weight of L-Arg group was significantly lower than that of control group (P<0. 01), but was significntly higher than that of routine therapy group (P<0. 05); ⑦The curative rate of L-Arg was 80. 0% which wassignificantly higher than that of routine therapy group which was only 55. 6% (P<0. 05).Conclusions NO deficiency may play an important role in the development of IUGR. L-Arg can increase NO level in vivo, improve maternal hemorheology and umbilical artery flow, accelerate fetal growth and increase newborn average birth weight. The curative effect of L-Arg combined with routine therapy is higher than that of routine therapy only.